Tips - or maybe just things we didn't know when we started and wished we did....

• Clecos - The basic Avery RV tool kit assumes you're only going to build one wing at a time. Moreover, it gives you pretty near the minimum for one wing. Buy at least twice as many #30 (silver) clecos if you plan to build both wings at once. It's hard to have too many clecos.
• Air Compressor - Buy the biggest oil bath compressor you can afford and have the space for. I'd say 5HP and 27-30 gallon is about the smallest you'd want. Smaller may work but not well.
• Microstop Countersinks - Upgrade to better quality. Don't buy what's in the kits. Instead go on ebay and buy quality used ones for about $10 each (photo). The one at the top is what came in the Avery kit. It over-heats quickly (less than 10 holes). The others are cool to the touch after 50+ holes and they have nicer adjustments. Having 2 countersink tools is nice so you can leave one with a #30 bit in it and the other with a #40 bit. Three's even better so you don't have to change out the #30 or #40 bits.
• Cleco Side Grips - are not benevolent inanimate objects. They are posessed, they bite, they don't let go, and they hurt like the dickens during and after the bite. So far CDC has never found a rabid Cleco Side Grip. Nonetheless, consider yourself warned about these viscous little devils. Keep your fingers out of the jaws - it's easy to get a painful pinch...more than once (don't ask how I know).
• Pneumatic squeezers - I must be the last builder in recent history not to own one that doesn't miss it. For a while I thought I needed one and then I realized how little they actually do. Most rivets will need to be bucked. Along the edges of parts you can squeeze with either a pneumatic or a hand squeezer. Considering riveting makes up maybe 10% of the work, the savings in time and effort is marginal at best. I think a fitting to adapt the deburring tool to a power screwdriver would be a much better investment. More time saved for 1/10th (or less) of the investment. I feel so good that I realized this before I spent $200+ on a pneumatic squeezer. YMMV
• If it doesn't fit, stop and think. If it still doesn't fit, ask someone else to look at your work. Compare it to the plans again. If they can't find the mistake, sleep on it and look at the problem again fresh tomorrow. If all else fails, call Van's. When parts don't fit it's always been my fault. I hear that other have found faulty parts...it's rare. Replacement parts are not free.
• Prepunched is very very good. At 270+ hours the empennage is done and the wings are recognizable. If this kit wasn't prepunched I'd be halfway done with the empennage. If you're thinking about building, don't underestimate the time and frustration of a prepunched kit. I'm pretty sure nearly anyone can build one of these kits.
• Proseal. First, it isn't as nasty and smelly as it's cracked up to be. It's messy but you can deal with that - here's how. Buy a box of at least 100 disposable gloves. I've tried the latex gloves 10 packs and they work but they're ill-fitting and there are not enough of them. I've also tried the blue nitrile gloves that Harbor Freight puts on sale occasionally. I don't recommend them either (although they're my second choice). I bought XL and I have XL hands but these gloves were loose on me. I think they'd fit OJ easily. They were useable but handling #3-n rivets was difficult and they seemed to soften and break when exposed to MEK. For less than $10 you can get 100 "one size fits all" latex gloves at Home Depot. They fit reasonably well (better than the 10 packs) and this makes handling rivets much easier. They are also more resistent to MEK and about the only drawback is the smell. When I put a fresh pair on and get a whiff of the talc I can almost hear my doctor saying "bend over"...and when I get a whiff of proseal that just adds to the effect. Moving on to more pleasant memories, I'd spread butcher paper or freezer paper on your table to protect it. Van's warns against news paper and I'd agree. Wear old clothes. You will get proseal on them and it won't come out. You can mix proseal by weight or volume. If you're into scales go for weight. Volumentric seemed easy to so I bought a cheap set of measuring cups and measuring spoons and a $2 bowel just for mixing proseal. A handy mix is 1/8th cup on the white stuff and 1/2 tsp +1/8 tsp of the black stuff. It'll do all the stiffeners and the fuel filler neck and the sump drain OR four ribs. Either of those is plenty for one session. Proseal isn't terrible difficult to use but it slows progress down. Clean up is a bit tedious too but not as bad as I expected. MEK takes proseal off before it has hardened. Denatured alcohol works too. As you're working, take your time and imagine this is the homebuilders equivellent of mud wrestling. It's the only thought I had the whole time that put a grin on my face. Proseal is messy and you will make a mess and you will work in a mess. And one last thought - Van's is pretty optimistic that you can do a tank in 2 or 3 sessions. It's possible and I expect with experience it my be easy. If this is your first plane, like it is ours, build a couple of extra days (or even a week) into your work plan when working with proseal. Finally, as I near the end of my second tank, it looks like 1 quart of the stuff is going to easily see me through with plenty left over. I've heard of people using two quarts and I can't imagine what they're doing with it.